When she woke up
by liliaeth
Summary: Cordy wakes up
1. Spike

Spike leaned back against the wall, lighting a smoke as he stared down the windows to the hall below him. Angel was sitting next to her, the cheerleader. She'd woken up the day before and the poof had gone all softness and light over her. Giving Spike a clear order to stay the hell away from her.   
Spike had given him the two finger salute, but for some reason he didn't really get, he'd obeyed. So far.

Smoke whirled around him, ghost-smoke, as real as his own ghostly body. Not that it hadn't annoyed Mickey when he'd discovered what Spike could now do. That and some strategically planted eucalyptus-leaves in dear old grandpa's blood supply. It was nice to know the old smile and flirt still worked with Harmony, even if he had nothing to follow it up with.

Angel was gone by now, leaving the cheerleader alone, watching TV. The nighttable next to her stacked up with magazines and papers. Her strength seemed to flow right out of her. Alone like that, sitting on that big white bed, she seemed to flatten into nothingness. Did Angel even know that she did this, be strong for him, for Fred, for the watcher and black panther boy? He didn't think so.

He moved through the walls, keeping invisible. Angel's orders be damned. Though he wasn't planning to bother her. He just sat down on the chair, listening to her cry. He couldn't help it, he picked up a handkerchief and gave it to her. 

"Dennis? Is that you?"

"Sorry to disappoint pet."

He let himself appear. She shrieked back, grabbing for one of the magazines to hit him on the head with it. He lifted his hands as if to protect himself, but the magazine went straight through him regardless. She jumped off the bed, or tried to do so. Grabbing for a chair, anything to defend herself.

Spike got agitated, what was it with people attacking him when he was just trying to be nice… Bloody hell, didn't Angel tell her he was on their side now? He growled a second and moved around, marching straight through the walls, letting her take care of herself then. It's not like he gave a damn about the poof and his bloody minions. He ignored Fred as she called after him and moved up to ….

Balls…

He stopped, letting Fred catch up with him.

She nearly dropped through her knees, breathing hard from running after him. Then she started a whole load of info on how her research was going and some science mumbo jumbo geekspeak, that he didn't get a word of.   
"And this means?"  
The words left his lips before he could stop them.

"That there might be another way to corporealize you. Without melting down half of LA, or all of it."

Like there had been all the other times. It was nice that she didn't give up hope, that she kept trying. He liked the bint, her constant optimism, all hell be damned. It was just that there'd been so many tries, so many hopes before. Might be better to just get used to this… life, enjoy it while it lasted and try and ignore what lay in store in the future. But he forced himself to smile and be happy. No need to depress her along with himself.

"That's great Fred. I…"

"Spike!" Uh oh, big poof up ahead. 

"What the hell where you doing in Cordelia's room. Didn't I expressly tell you to stay away from her, to leave her in peace and…"

Bla bla bla … grandpa off on a rant again. So was he gonna burst a vein, get pissed off enough to care one twiddly little bit?

Spike wasn't sure, should be play the penitent little boy card that got Angel totally blow his top of or…  
"I was just passing by, no need to bark off your territory. Then again, you love doing that, pissing off your terrain, like a big bad …

Angel turned away leaving him standing in the middle of his sentence.

"I wasn't bothering her you bastard. She's just lonely, thought she might need some company."

Angel turned back and actually growled.   
"That might be so Spike, but she'd never need yours."

Spike stood there, looking away from Fred, almost instinctively hiding in his coat.


	2. Cordy

**__**

When she woke up (2/?)  
Title:When she woke up  
Author:Lore  
Rating: PG13  
Summary: Cordy wakes up  
Notes: no pairings, just friendships  
  
  
  
Things had gotten silent the past few days.   
After the hustle and the confusion of waking up, Cordy had no idea what to do with it all. Fred had come in, babbling on and on and she'd wished her gone, begging for a moment of silence away from this near stranger who treated her like a best friend. Wes had come in, he'd seemed so uncomfortable as if he could barely face her. She hadn't even dared ask him to stay. Gunn, he didn't even look like Gunn anymore. The suit, the attitude.   
  
And Angel...   
he'd been in, she'd asked him about Connor. He hadn't even answered. He'd just sat there. He'd just sat there, staring at her as if she'd said something evil and then he'd left.  
  
They all left.  
And she still didn't have a clue of what was going on, what they were all doing at Wolfram and Heart. She wanted Connor, just holding him would make it alright. But every time she asked after him, no one seemed to have a clue what she was talking about.  
  
That's when the evil undead came in again. And she still didn't have a single weapon to defend herself. He just lifted his arms and sat down as if coming in for a regular visit.  
  
"What do you want?"she snorted it out.  
  
"To annoy Angel."  
  
Of course. What else was there.  
"I'll scream."  
  
He seemed offended by that.  
"Why am I even trying." He got up, pacing, "I just thought you might need some company that's all."  
  
"From the evil undead?"  
  
"I'm not evil!"  
He threw his arms down, paced around some more.  
"I have a soul now you know. I don't go around scaring the little puppies anymore. I bloody well died to save the world and what do I get, hate and fear and all that crap. Can't people just bloody well lay belly up and get over it already."  
He growled as he said it.  
  
Cordelia stared at him in shock.  
"Soul?"  
  
"Oh great, the big dramaqueen didn't even bother to tell you.   
I ... have... a ... Soul.   
Doesn't mean I'm all about atonement or that crap. But I'm not gonna just kill you either. Even if I could."  
  
"You've got a soul?"  
She almost laughed at just the thought. The big bad with a soul.   
Spike, doing good and saving the helpless, dressed like a punk, turned into a big fluffy puppy with bad teeth.  
She tried to keep it in and failed miserably, laughing in his face.  
  
He just looked at her, staring.  
  
"It's not funny."  
  
But oh yes it was.   
And dramatic too, but just the thought.  
  
"What? You decided to eat the wrong gypsy? You annoyed Willow a time too many? So now you're what? Spik the poor punk eunuch."  
  
"I wasn't cursed you dink. I chose it. For Buffy."  
  
Cordelia stared at him with wide open mouth.  
"Chose?"  
  
"Yeah, I wanted to be souled. I didn't have to go kicking and screaming like a certain brooding wanker who keeps nagging about his hairgel. And I can have sex any time I want."  
The bluster left him then.  
"Well I could... before..."

And Cordy stared as the vampires hand moved right through the bed.  
"You're a ghost." she whispered.  
  
He sat down. Not facing her.  
"And I'm still nothing like Angel."  
  
tbc


End file.
